My husband looked at me with childlike innocence, and I barely restrained myself from slapping him across the face. After all this time, my nerves were stretched to the breaking point and finally snapped.
When I was in college, my classmates and I often went to a small cozy bar where live music played on Fridays. One evening, the stage captured my attention more than usual. In the foreground stood an attractive guitarist with big brown eyes, who did not take his gaze off me throughout the performance, and I was glad that our attraction was mutual.
«Good evening, may I get to know you?» asked the charming musician after his performance.
«Vika,» I responded immediately and reached out my hand.
«I’m Andrey,» the young man lightly kissed my hand.
This gesture surprised me greatly, as I was not accustomed to such courteous treatment. My friends watched us with admiration; it was clear they also liked the musician.
«Unfortunately, I have to leave now, but maybe you could give me your phone number?» Andrey asked.
«Of course.» I dictated my number to him, smiling all the while.
«I’ll definitely call,» Andrey promised as he put his phone away. «Ladies, have a great evening,» he wished my friends before disappearing backstage.
«Vika, don’t let this wonderful guy slip away,» Lilia said with a hint of envy in her voice.
«Yes, he’s very good,» I still kept my eyes on the door through which Andrey had left.
«I’ve always dreamed of dating a musician,» Angela shared.
«Maybe Andrey has a nice friend; I’ll ask him if he calls me.»
«He will call, you saw how he looked at you,» Lilia confidently said.
«I hope you’re right,» I said hopefully.
Lilia was right; the next day Andrey called me and asked me out. I agreed without hesitation. We spent a wonderful evening, finding many common topics and chatting nonstop. Only in the early morning did Andrey walk me home, and I, tired but happy, fell into bed, deciding to skip school. Since then, our meetings with Andrey became almost daily; we met whenever possible, and eventually, we decided to live together.
«We should rent a bigger apartment, it will be too cramped in yours,» Andrey suggested to me.
«Yes, I think so too, let’s look at other options,» I agreed.
Andrey still lived with his parents, and moving in with him was a bad idea. I was renting a small studio that was quite sufficient for me alone, but critically small for both of us.
«I’ll start looking for the best apartment for us tomorrow,» Andrey promised.
«I don’t care what the apartment is like, as long as you are there,» I said, looking at Andrey with loving eyes. «Just make sure it’s not too expensive; our side jobs won’t allow us to pay a lot.»
A suitable option was found quite quickly, and a week after our conversation we moved into a one-bedroom but spacious apartment, where a new chapter of our life began. Time passed, I graduated from the institute and got a job at the company where I interned during my studies. Andrey continued to sing in the evenings at the bar, he didn’t want to look for anything else. Thus we lived for several months, then Andrey proposed to me, and I happily agreed.
«I don’t want a lavish wedding; let’s celebrate this day just the two of us,» I shared my vision of the holiday with Andrey.
«You surprised me, I thought you’d want to invite a crowd of your friends,» Andrey was amazed.
«It’s enough for me to have you. Besides, we don’t have that much money, and I wouldn’t want to go into debt.»
«Whatever you say, I’m all for it,» Andrey agreed with me.
Everything happened as I wanted; we got married and walked around the city, visiting all our favorite places. I wasn’t sad at all that we didn’t have a luxurious wedding; having Andrey was enough for my happiness. After marriage, I felt even happier than before, even small troubles couldn’t upset me.
«Honey, I have bad news,» Andrey sat at the table, looking very upset.
«What happened?» I was worried, it was rare to see Andrey in a bad mood.
«The bar is closing, and I can no longer perform there,» my husband sighed heavily.
«Well, it’s a shame, of course, but nothing terrible, there are many places with live music, you’ll find something.»
«I don’t know, the guys in the band no longer want to perform in bars and restaurants, they think it’s time for us to move to a new level.»
«And how do they plan to do that?» I asked.
«Well, we need to rehearse more, invest money in good equipment,» Andrey replied.
«And what about work?»
«Can you give me some time, we will definitely make it big with the guys, and a regular job would distract me. And honestly, a standard job doesn’t suit me, after all, I’m a creative person.»
«Alright, let me work alone for now, they promised to raise my salary,» I agreed with Andrey.
I considered him very talented and focused, I believed that he and the band could achieve success in the music industry, so I didn’t insist that Andrey get a job. At first, everything was fine, I saw how Andrey was passionate about his favorite thing, and how it made him happy. However, over time, his consumer attitude towards me began to strain me. I can’t really say when it happened, but at some point, Andrey started to become brazen.
«Vic, I need money,» he declared to me one evening at dinner.
«For what?» I raised my eyebrows.
«I need a new guitar,» he explained.
«But you have a guitar,» I didn’t understand.
«Yes, but I need another one, this one is outdated, how can I talk about success if I have such an instrument.»
«I thought talent was more important than the instrument,» I ventured.
«Of course not, you just don’t understand anything about it.»
«And how much money do you need?»
«About seventy thousand,» Andrey calmly replied, as if we were talking about some trifle.
«How much?!» I almost choked on my dinner.
«For a good instrument, it’s not much. You understand, it’s an investment in the future, I’ll become famous, and these money will be mere pennies for our family,» my husband promised and looked at me with his pleading eyes, against which I could never resist.
«Alright, take the money from the savings.»
«Thank you, sunshine, you’ll see, I’ll become a star.»
The new guitar was bought, and our family budget remained the same, rather, contrary to my husband’s promises, it gradually decreased. Andrey also changed and became more rude and dismissive in dealing with me. He started to disappear more often at rehearsals, and when he returned, he was almost always in an inadequate state.
«How long can you drink?!» I asked irritably when Andrey came home drunk again.
«I need some way to relax, I work in a tough rhythm.»
«Work?» I sneered. «And where’s your salary?»
«Again you nag, I’m going to fame, and you demotivate me.»
«I would be more sympathetic to you if you were going to fame without bad habits and working at a regular job, I’m tired of supporting both of us.»
«What job are you talking about?» Andrey was indignant, his tongue was tied, he could hardly articulate words. «I’m a delicate, creative nature, such work doesn’t suit me, it’s ordinary people who should work.»
«By ordinary people, you mean me?»
«Well, you don’t have any talents,» said Andrey, not understanding why I was angry.
«How about I also engage in creativity, we’ll be hungry but talented,» I suggested.
«Don’t talk nonsense,» Andrey waved his hand and staggered to the bedroom.
After the rose-colored glasses fell from my eyes, living with Andrey became much harder. Now his creative nature didn’t endear me but only irritated me. The apartment gradually turned into a warehouse of musical instruments, bought with my money.
«Ouch!» I screamed as I entered the apartment and tripped over some box.
«What are you yelling for?» Andrey came out to the hallway.
«What is this?» I pointed to the box that almost crippled me.
«It’s a stand and a new microphone, be careful, it costs money,» my husband warned me.
«Are you saying? It costs my money, you meant to say.»
«Ours, we’re a family.»
«Where did you get the money, I don’t remember you asking me about this purchase.»
«I took the money from the dresser.»
«The one I was saving for vacation?» I asked in fright.
«I don’t know what you were saving it for, in any case, the microphone is more important right now,» Andrey didn’t pay attention to my anger.
«More important to whom?» I barely held back a scream.
«For our family, my success will benefit us both. Alright, I’m busy, I don’t have time to argue with you,» and he left, leaving me to fume alone.
It was hard to imagine how much longer my patience would last. I had no desire to be near Andrey, the old feelings were somewhere in the distant past. I saw that for him, the group and partying were more important, and the family had gone to the last place on his list of priorities. Several times friends called me and told me that they saw Andrey in the bar where he was having fun with his friends and hitting on the waitresses. I made scenes, we argued a lot, but it led to nothing, he didn’t care.
«I think you need to talk to him calmly, quarrels will lead to nothing,» Lilia advised me when I called her to complain about my husband.
«I’ve already talked to him calmly, it doesn’t work. And my nerves are giving out, I have no more strength.»
«Do you think you can save the family?» Lilia asked.
«I still love him, but, I think, he will drive me to the edge, and it will all end,» I shared my fears.
«Whatever happens, it’s for the best,» Lilia wisely noted.
I was afraid of losing Andrey, but with each of his antics, that fear became less and less. For the New Year, I received a good bonus at work, and I joyfully went home, hoping that we could go somewhere for the winter holidays.
«Imagine, my efforts were not in vain, plus fifty thousand to the salary!» I shared my joy with Andrey.
«They gave you a good bonus at work, give it to me, I’ll spend it on myself,» the unemployed husband declared
«Are you out of your mind?» My joy was swept away.
«And what, you’re not passionate about anything, I need it more.»
«Have you completely lost your conscience?» Andrey’s audacity crossed all boundaries.
«What’s the problem? We have a common budget,» my husband couldn’t understand the reason for my indignation.
«For the budget to be common, both of us need to contribute, not just me alone.»
«We agreed, I need to develop in music, otherwise how will I make money?»
«Like all normal people, at work!» I yelled.
«But that doesn’t suit me.»
«You know what, you don’t suit me, get out of here!»
«Are you out of your mind?» Andrey looked at me in surprise.
«Yes, when I agreed to support you. Get out, I say, I don’t want to see you anymore.»
«I’m your husband!»
«That’s temporary, leave.»
«What’s happening to you, we agreed on everything, why are you reacting so strangely?»
«We didn’t agree that you would become brazen and sit on my neck. I’ve tolerated your idleness and endless parties, where you disappeared under the guise of rehearsals, enough! Get out!» I repeated again.
Andrey wanted to say something else, but I grabbed my coat and ran out of the apartment, not giving him a chance. I wandered around the snow-covered city for several hours, then returned home, there was no one there, Andrey’s closets were empty. «Well, thank God,» I sighed with relief, making sure he really left. I was afraid that if I broke up with Andrey, I would suffer greatly, but I felt light and calm. «It means I did everything right,» I decided. A couple of months after breaking up with Andrey, I met Lilia, and she told me news from his life.
«Imagine, your Andrey now lives with Rita.»
«First of all, he’s long been not mine, and secondly, who is Rita?» I clarified.
«Well, it’s that waitress who always served us in our favorite bar, remember?»
«Oh, right! I haven’t seen her for years.»
«Yes, me neither. And then I met her on the street, and she told me that she lives with Andrey, he still doesn’t work and is waiting for success,» Lilia said.
«And she’s okay with that?» I asked.
«She’s thrilled about how romantic he is, believes that Andrey will definitely become famous.»
«Poor girl, she’s in for a big disappointment,» I sympathetically said, remembering how I also fell for all his promises.
«She’ll understand what she’s gotten into, sooner or later, but she will,» Lilia said, and we started discussing news of my personal life, and we had a lot to discuss.
After Andrey, I didn’t stop believing in love and now built a relationship with a man with whom I felt like behind a stone wall.
